Grand Slam

"These men are in... for the crime of their lives."

1967 2h 1m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

🥫

33%

ROTTEN

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 41🥫33%Rotten Tomatoes★6.8IMDB · 1,409

CrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Professor James Anders is a seemingly mild-mannered teacher, an American working in Rio De Janeiro. Anders, bored with years of teaching, decides to put together a team to pull off a diamond heist during the Rio Carnival. Four international experts are brought together to carry out the robbery: a safe cracking expert, a master thief, a mechanical genius, and a playboy.

“These men are in... for the crime of their lives.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Janet Leigh
Mary Ann
Robert Hoffmann
Jean-Paul Audry
Klaus Kinski
Erich Weiss
Riccardo Cucciolla
Agostino Rossi
George Rigaud
Gregg Hutchinson
Adolfo Celi
Mark Milford
Edward G. Robinson
Prof. James Anders
Jussara
Setuaka

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Giuliano Montaldo
Writers: Paolo Bianchini, Mino Roli, Augusto Caminito
Languages: German, French, English, Portuguese
Countries: Germany, Italy, Spain

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

59 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: German, French, English, Portuguese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Germany, Italy, Spain.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Giuliano Montaldo, shot by Antonio Macasoli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nino Baragli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Janet Leigh and Robert Hoffmann and Klaus Kinski carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "These men are in... for the crime of their lives.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Giuliano Montaldo directs. Antonio Macasoli behind the camera. Ennio Morricone scores. Nino Baragli cuts. Produced in Germany, Italy, Spain. Dialogue in German, French, English, Portuguese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

159 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 4 languages: German, French, English, Portuguese.
3International production across 3 countries: Germany, Italy, Spain.
4Directed by Giuliano Montaldo, shot by Antonio Macasoli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Nino Baragli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Janet Leigh and Robert Hoffmann and Klaus Kinski carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "These men are in... for the crime of their lives.".
9IMDB entry: tt0062636 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 41 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Antonio Macasoli
Original score: Ennio Morricone
Editing: Nino Baragli
Production design: Alberto Boccianti
Costume design: Enrique Garriga
Makeup / hair: Adrián Jaramillo
Runtime: 121 min · 2h 1m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Grand Slam (1967)
Rotten Tomatoes: 33% 🥫 Rotten
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 1,409 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Also by

Giuliano Montaldo

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522022-05-30
★ 8/10
Entertaining heist-thriller with fine performances from all involved (would've liked seeing Edgar G. Robinson more but all in all was engrossed with the heist itself and the twist or two. Not sure if it ranks high amongst others in the genre (Ocean's Eleven is the top of my list) but still well worth checking out. 3.75/5
CinemaSerf2024-03-06
★ 7/10
This is a surprisingly good little crime drama that has been largely forgotten since 1967 - which is a bit of a shame. Edward G. Robinson is a retired professor 'Anders" who assembles a rather disparate gang in order to execute the most fantastic of heists, from a seemingly impregnable vault, that will leave them the proud owners of $10m in diamonds. His meticulous, almost "League of Gentlemen" (1960) , planning accounts for every detailed aspect of the security around these jewels, and the execution of this part of the plot is (safe) cracking. As usual with most robbery stories, the plot seems to peter out after the criminal denouement, and sadly the ending is just a little to predictable. Good efforts from Klaus Kinski, Robert Hoffman and Janet Leigh as the duplicitous "Mary Ann" - alongside some really innovative use of some shaving foam - keep it enjoyably paced, and quite a bit better than average. The score is quite annoying, and the dialogue could do with just a shade of tightening up, but it's a good looking enjoyable escapade that I rather enjoyed.